The car that Haas is launching will compete in its maiden season without former team manager Guenther Steiner’s leadership.
With the VF-24, Haas’ new car, the team is going more toward a black-on-black aesthetic, which is becoming popular on the F1 grid as teams remove paint to save weight.
The car’s nose and the area surrounding the cockpit are now black instead of white, which is a significant change from the 2023 model’s livery. The front and rear wings are still red.
Given that team owner Gene Haas did not offer Steiner a new contract after the team placed last in the championship, the upcoming season appears to be critical to the Haas squad’s longer-term prospects.
Steiner and Gene Haas, the club owner, had fundamental differences about the organization’s future course. Steiner believed Haas should make greater investments in buildings, personnel, and equipment to stay competitive, while Haas believed the team could do more with its current resources.
Leading rookie Ayao Komatsu’s team into the upcoming season are drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg, who will be rejoining as partners for a second season.
Gene Haas, Chairman of the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team, stated, “I’m looking forward to seeing the VF-24 running and racing — a sentiment I know I share with our partners and indeed the entire team.”
“In Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, we also know we’ve got a great pair of drivers behind the wheel, their experience will prove invaluable again as we develop our program through the year.
“We’ve used the off-season to put the processes in place to be better and ultimately improve our overall performance. Soon we get to see how we’re doing.”
Komatsu stated that the club ought to have low expectations for the upcoming year.
“Out of the gates in Bahrain, I still think we’re going to be towards the back of the grid, if not last,” he stated in the press release announcing the team’s new 2024 car.
At the U.S. Grand Prix at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas, Haas delayed delivering a significant car upgrade for most of 2023, but the results fell short of the team’s goals.
According to Komatsu, the team’s progress has been hindered as they enter the new season.
Then, Komatsu indicated that he didn’t like the team’s previous methods and declared that his Haas will analyze its position using a completely different method after Bahrain’s preseason test, which is done the week before the first race is held at the same location.